As part of the Greek Community of Melbourne’s Greek History and Culture seminars, freelance writer, poet and translator Dimitri Gonis will present a lecture next month focusing on the self-identification of Alexander the Great.
Ancient sources on the Hellenism of ancient Macedonians are not always clear, sometimes painting a picture of people who lived on the fringes of the Greek world, and who were not always considered Hellenes by their southern kin. For example people like Demosthenes referred to Philip II as a ‘barbarian’, while Isocrates referred to him as a man ‘beyond any of the Hellenes’ and a man of the ‘blood of Hellas’.
While all his actions pointed to his Hellenic self-identification, there is little evidence about what Philip thought of himself, unlike his son Alexander, who in all the sources available, unambiguously self-identifies as a Hellene repeatedly affirming his Hellenic roots and intrinsic Hellenism.
Gonis’ lecture will examine Alexander’s self-identification as presented in the Hellenistic writings of both Greek and Roman writers, and identification by others in the 3rd century CE folkloric tradition of Pseudo-Callisthenes.
Gonis is a sessional lecturer at La Trobe University, and recently completed his PhD ‘The Politics of Memory and Nationhood: Neo-Macedonism in Australia’.
The lecture is being made possible thanks to the Australian Institute of Macedonian Studies.
‘The Self-Identification of Alexander the Great according to the Ancient Sources’ will take place on Thursday 12 April at the Ithacan Philanthropic Society (Level 2, 329 Elizabeth St, Melbourne) at 7.00 pm. Attendance is free.
* Considerable expenses are incurred in staging the seminars. To mitigate these costs individuals or organisations are invited to donate against a lecture of their choice. For enquiries, email info@greekcommunity.com.au or call (03) 9662 2722.